This invention relates to an antilipemic agent containing a therapeutically effective amount of a nonsaponifiable fraction of soybean oil. Antilipemic agents are substances which act to lower the level of fats or lipids in blood serum. It also relates to an orally administrable therapeutic composition in the form of a pharmaceutical carrier and a nonsaponifiable fraction of soybean oil and to a method for treating lipemia using same.
It has been established in the prior art that certain plant sterols (also termed phytosterols), including .beta.-sitosterol and stigmasterol, are effective for lowering the cholesterol level in blood serum.sup.1. A number of such reports on the antilipemic activity of plant sterols have been published. An antilipemic agent containing 20% by weight of .beta.-sitosterol suspended in a 4% alcohol solution has recently been put on the market by E. Lilly Co. At the present time there exists no known method by which plant sterols other than .beta.-sitosterol, e.g., stigmasterol and campesterol, can be extracted and separated, in pure form, from vegetable oils. The use of .beta.-sitosterol as an antilipemic agent requires that dosages be administered in disadvantageously large amounts, i.e., 20 to 30 g of .beta.-sitosterol per day, because of the body's low absorption of .beta.-sitosterol.sup.1, thus inviting liver or kidney troubles over long periods of administration. Additionally, where the .beta.-sitosterol containing antilipemic agent is administered over a long period of time, a .notident..sup.1 See, for example, Steroid Biochemistry and Pharmacology M. H. Briggs and J. Brotherton -- Academic Press (London:1970), p. 183. rebound phenomenon in the cholesterol value is observed during the administration period.